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Now it's subs

I've lived in disdain of subwoofers for years.  The poor integration and indiscriminate screwing up of the voicing of the delivery.  Today I was just testing a recovered old active Gallo sub and it made some just okay speakers sing.  What ?!?!?  Arrrggghhh!!!

Now the contemplation of a very decent sub to pair with my Merlin Black Magic monitors.  System as follows:

Naim UnitiServe server with Pardo power supply, Naim DAC, Manley Jumbo Shrimp pre, Manley Mahi Mahi monos, all Decware cabling.  Thanks for any input regarding fast subs that improve all aspects of imaging, attack, voicing and impact.  Musical tastes mostly jazz, blues, Celtic.  

Thanks so so much in advance.
                                                        Doug


celtic66
jafant's avatar
jafant
19,814 posts
 
Doug-

look no further than a REL subwoofer, especially, the older models.
bondmanp
1,818 posts
 
I own a pair of the Vandy 2Wq subs and could not agree more with the article posted above. Easy to place and integrate, they provide deep, clean, powerful bass, and they don’t reveal themselves as a source. The battery-biased crossovers improve transparancy, and your mains must extend down to 40Hz. I will never let go of these subs.
4425
861 posts
 
B&W DB1. You'll never listen without one after trying it out; and I mean in an excellent high end two channel system. Has auto room eq and is tight. Exudes quality as well. FWIW

shadorne's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
shadorne
7,477 posts
 
+1 JL is good. Be wary of anything else - the vast majority of subwoofers are not suitable for music at all. It is all entirely about the quality of the woofer in the sub (JL make excellent woofers with long linear excursions) and EQ is just icing on the cake. Most subwoofers are just a bunch of distortion and that is most of what you hear - distortion. A good sub is actually barely noticeable with music but can suddenly be impactful. 
wolf_garcia
6,711 posts
 
I bought 2 used RELs from the same era for 200 bucks each, both in excellent condition. The first was maybe 4 years or so ago and it's a Q150e front firing 10, and the second I found last year and it's Q108EII. My system was absolutely energized by the first and made even better by the second. Musical subs simply require that you move 'em around until YOU like the sound, and pay attention to the crossover points and levels on the subs (I find using a test CD to determine the ACTUAL low frequency limits of my mains is useful, and set the subs to take over around the point the mains stop delivering useful bass). I personally don't care about room EQ gizmos as you wind up surrendering EQ choices to the people who design these digital nannies, and I'm a seriously experienced live sound engineer who's ego won't allow such intrusions. Plus my largish listening room has tall, sloped ceilings and furniture. I turn the subs up and down if needed, and seriously enjoy the living bejeezus out of them every day.
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